Category Archives: Runstedler’s DVD Pick of the Month

This year’s Hereditary has been hailed as the scariest movie in recent years, but I don’t feel that it does this film justice. It is terrifying on a psychological level, but the traditional jump scares and scare tactics are minimal. Instead, we … Continue reading →

HBO’s new documentary Elvis Presley: The Searcher peels back the mythological layers of the rock icon/god to examine him as a man who was hard working, open minded, quite likeable, and who loved music. I love Elvis Presley, especially his Sun Sessions … Continue reading →

Pyewacket is a great little Canadian indie horror gem about a teenage girl whose father has recently died and as a consequence of arguing with her overprotective mother, decides to summon a demon with even more disastrous consequences. Canadian Nicole Muñoz … Continue reading →

Alex Garland (Ex Machina) makes a fantastic return as director/writer with Annihilation, which is based on Jeff VanderMeer’s novel. It’s about five female scientists who enter a seemingly alien, jungle-like quarantine zone searching for the lost expedition. Only one of its … Continue reading →

Ma vie de Courgette (a courgette is a zucchini for North American folks) is a delightful and heartwarming little stop motion film, and probably my favourite animated film since Finding Nemo. Courgette is the main character, a sensitive and intelligent little boy … Continue reading →

David Munro’s 1979 ITV documentary Year Zero: The Silent Death of Cambodia (written by John Pilger) captures the horrors and atrocities of Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge regime (1975-79) firsthand from the front line. While it is a hard watch, it is a … Continue reading →

Craig Gillespie’s mockumentary biopic (and first directed film) I, Tonya tells the story of Tonya Harding (Margot Robbie), an Olympic figure skater from an abused and unloved background who is the first to successfully complete the triple axel, before being accused … Continue reading →

Based on Scott Heim’s acclaimed novel of the same name, Greg Arraki’s 2004 film Mysterious Skin is a tough and disturbing watch, but also an incredible cinematic experience. It tells of two boys Neil (a young Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Brian (Brady Corbet) … Continue reading →

The enchanting Gemma Arterton stars as Tess in the excellent 2008 BBC adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s masterpiece Tess of the D’Urbervilles, which is near perfect. Arterton is amazing as Tess: immensely talented, resilient, free spirited, ethereal, gorgeous, and the very image … Continue reading →

This is arguably Jackie Chan’s best action movie, and certainly one of the best action movies of all time. I think what really propels this one among Chan’s other films is its sheer audacity: consider the opening sequence, where Chan … Continue reading →